Italian cinema lands in Los Angeles thanks to Italian Screens with four screenings of four movies that were nominated for the David di Donatello 2023: La Siccità (Dry) by Paolo Virzì, Settembre (September) by Giulia Louise Steigerwalt, Ti mangio il Cuore (Burning Hearts) by Pippo Mezzapesa, and La Stranezza (Strangeness) by Roberto Andò.
ITALIAN SCREENS – New Italian Cinema is an initiative by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), Cinecittà for the Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual of the Ministry of Culture (DGCA-MiC), and the Academy of Italian Cinema – David di Donatello Awards. Italian Screens has been set up to promote the Italian Film Distribution Fund, development and production incentives, attractive tax credits and amazing locations.
The screenings in Los Angeles are organized by Ibiscus Media, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles, USC School of Cinematic Arts and under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy.
La Siccità (Dry)
by Paolo Virzì, starring Silvio Orlando, Valerio Mastandrea and Monica Bellucci.
Three years, still no rain. Rome has gone dry, and the lack of water has changed its way of life. In a city overwhelmed with thirst and restrictions, there moves a swarm of characters, young and old, successful and marginalized, victims and victimizers. Their lives are part of the same design, and they are all looking for redemption.
Date & Time: Nov 30, 2023 | 7:00pm
Location: Laemmle Monica Film Center (1332 2nd Street, Santa Monica CA)
Film in Italian with English subtitles
Settembre (September)by Giulia Louise Steigerwalt, starring Fabrizio Bentivoglio and Barbara Ronchi.
It happens on a September day that three characters realize that the life they are living is not the one they dreamed of. That happiness is a far away idea but still possible. A choral story that explores human relationships, our deepest nature, the search for a more authentic connection between people.
From the screenwriter of Moglie e Marito, Croce e Delizia and il Campione, a first work made of existential melancholy, tight dialogues and great expressive freedom.
Location: Laemmle Monica Film Center (1332 2nd Street, Santa Monica CA)
Film in Italian with English subtitles
Ti mangio il cuore (Burning Hearts)
by Pippo Mezzapesa, starring Elodie, Francesco Patanè and Francesco Di Leva
The forbidden love between Andrea, the reluctant heir of the Malatesta family, and Marilena, the beautiful wife of the Camporeale boss, rekindles an old feud between two rival families. The fatal passion brings the clans back into war, in an ancient land, not so different from the far west, where only blood can wash out blood, following the ruthless codes of the local mafia. But Marilena, now cast out by the Camporeale and prisoner of the Malatesta, contended and reviled, with the strength only a wounded mother can have, will oppose to a destiny which seems already written.
Date & Time: Dec 1, 2023 | 7:00pm
Location: The Ray Stark Family Theatre at USC (900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles)
Film in Italian with English subtitles
La stranezza (Strangeness)
by Roberto Andò, starring Toni Servillo, Salvo Ficarra and Valentino Picone
1921, future Literature Nobel Prize Winner Luigi Pirandello returns to his beloved Sicily for the 80th birthday of his mentor, famous novelist and playwright Giovanni Verga. Upon his arrival in Agrigento, feral and unexpected news catapult him into a human universe populated by incredible personalities, ghostly visions, distant memories and melancholy apparitions. While at the height of his artistic growth, at the same time Pirandello finds himself still in the midst of his reflection on theater. This irrational and compelling journey will allow him to confront a nostalgic past, propelling him toward the creation of his masterpiece, “Six Characters in Search of an Author” an eternal work of art which will mark a worldwide revolution in twentieth-century theater
Date & Time: Dec 4, 2023 | 7:00pm
Location: Norris Cinema Theatre at USC (3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles)
Film in Italian with English subtitles
